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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. march — music
  3. rash — a series
  4. land — a country
  5. root — of a word
  6. mark — a trace
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. land — ground
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. root — of a plant
  14. mark — a grade
  15. land — to come down
  16. chest — of your body
  17. root — the cause
  18. snap — to click
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. chest — a box
  24. chest — of your body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com